


Shin Rikkaidai Fuzoku

by snooperj, TheDarkShadow



Series: Shin Tenipuri [1]
Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Second Generation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2020-01-01 07:48:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18331733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snooperj/pseuds/snooperj, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDarkShadow/pseuds/TheDarkShadow
Summary: It’s never too late to reclaim what was once yours.Second generation tennis prodigies Sanada Akihiro and Yanagi Keiji attend Rikkaidai Fuzoku, hoping to bring the championship back after years of being dethroned in the time of their parents.





	1. Spawn

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story into the second generation of Tennis no Oujisama, centered around the children of the regulars of the Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Club.

Sanada Akihiro, son of Yukimura Seiichi and Sanada Genichirou, was dropped off for his first day at Rikkai Dai Fuzoku. Waving pleasantly to his parents as they drove off, he adjusted the strap of his tennis bag and took a look around. "Sugee......" he breathed out with a calm smile before gripping his school bag and walked off to the nearest school building.

 

"Out of the way..." a boy muttered from behind him, bumping his shoulders on purpose as he walked inside the campus. “Be even slower and you're going to be late on the first day Akihiro...” he reminded as he stomped off.

 

Akihiro blinked when the boy moved past him before chuckling and jogging up after him. "Matte yo, Keiji!" he called out after him.

 

Yanagi Keiji, the son of the known data master, Yanagi Renji, and devil ace, Kirihara Akaya, merely spared his friend a single glance before walking up again. "How the hell did your 'mother' make sure that we were in the same class again?" he asked with a frown. "My dad said I shouldn't be surprised though."

 

Akihiro moved up alongside Keiji as they made their way to their classroom, smiling fondly, patting him on the shoulder. "Considering your father and his analytical skills I'd agree with him," he pointed out. "And I don't think you should even bother asking how my Kaa-san manages to pull strings anymore. His reputation here is a little.... impossible to refuse," he added with a chuckle.

 

"Add the fact that your father is who he is....persuasion of anything to their advantage goes from 99.4% to 100%," Keiji told him with a sigh. "Until now their reputations do wonders." Reaching the second floor of the building, they soon found their classroom. "If you get some fanboys and fangirls on the first day here, I will not be held responsible for my actions," he told him. "And as long as you don't sic me at them again, everything will be fine," he added as he slid open the door.

 

Akihiro nodded. "And as expected you inherited your father's brains, Keiji," he added before stepping into the classroom with him. "And I don't think it would even be possible for me to attract fans so quickly," he argued, quickly sliding the door closed once he was inside the room to stop any cheers from erupting behind them.

 

"Obtaining fans on the first day...." Keiji said as he stepped aside. "Probability: 89.8%," he told him just before a hoard of boys and girls from all year levels suddenly approached him, opening the door that they had just closed. "And the probability of people trying to approach me...." he told himself before smirking evilly and looking behind him. “82.3%” he finished as he radiated an evil aura that sent chills down everyone's spines, except for Akihiro, causing them to step back from the pair. "After you Aki," he said with a gesture of his hand towards two empty chairs.

 

"You didn't need to scare them like that, Kei," Akihiro scolded as he picked one of the two seats and set his school bag on top, lowering his tennis bag. _'I would have easily done that myself,'_ he added to himself as he turned to the group and flashed them a seemingly innocent smile. At this, the hoard sans their classmates zoomed out the door and slid it closed behind them, causing Akihiro to chuckle as he took his seat. "That was interesting~"

 

"I did nothing," Keiji said in defense as he took the seat beside Aki. "The tryouts for the tennis team are later after school. Even if they announced that they're not going to take any freshmen this year, you're still going to try out aren't you?" he asked.  _'I don't even need to calculate the chance that he will,'_ he added in his mind.

 

"That's about the only reason I brought this along," Akihiro replied, jerking a thumb to his tennis bag. "And there wasn't any announcement like that," he added with a slight frown.

 

"You didn't read the flyer," Keiji said as he handed a piece of bond paper to his seatmate. "Here...ripped it off the bulletin board that we passed earlier," he said before inwardly smirking.

 

Akihiro took a moment to read the piece of paper before crumpling it and tossing it into the nearby trash bin. "I'm not worried about that. It can always be arranged," he told his best friend reassuringly, glancing over to him with a calm smile. "That's where you come in, Kei~" he said promptly. "We're going to go hunt down some senpais during lunch break."

 

Feeling a twitch work its way out, Keiji looked at his friend carefully. "I don't like that smile of yours....." he said before backing away a bit. "You're not going to make me do something weird...are you?" he asked.

 

"Saa, you'll have to wait until lunchtime," Akihiro said innocently. Chuckling for a moment as the class started settling down, he leaned towards Keiji and added, "You owe me for beating you at tennis two days ago."

 

"I was hoping that you wouldn't use that against me," Keiji admitted sheepishly before looking up as the teacher called them for introductions. "Percentage that the teacher will cringe once he finds out who you are, 100%," he muttered over to Aki.

 

Akihiro chuckled mutely before saying, "To you as well."

 

The introductions commenced as the teacher began reading off the attendance list. "Sanada........" the teacher did a double take on the family name before clearing his throat and starting again. "Sanada Akihiro-kun," he called out.

 

"Hai," Akihiro replied, rising to his feet and turned to his classmates. Greeting them with a warm smile, he proceeded to introduce himself.

 

When Keiji's turn came, a deadly silence enveloped the teacher who immediately went pale. "90% chance that you're assuming that my mother is Kirihara Akaya...." Keiji said as he smirked. "You're right," he said deviously.

 

"Kei, stop scaring the poor teacher," Akihiro scolded with a calm smile. "You might give sensei a heart attack, it’s only the first day of the school year," he added.

 

"Of course Aki," Keiji said with a chuckle before bowing at their teacher. "Yoroshiku onegaishimasu," he said before sitting back down.

 

\----------

 

Homeroom period swept by quickly followed by the next few classes. It wasn't until lunchtime that Akihiro and Keiji made their way to the cafeteria and spotted the members of the tennis club. With a calm smile, Akihiro gently pushed Keiji towards them. "Go on then," he instructed.

 

'It's not like I have much of a choice now...'he thought ruefully in his mind before stepping towards the table of the tennis club members. "Excuse me, senpai-tachi.....but are you the members of the tennis club?" he asked politely.

 

"Yes we are. Want an autograph or something, freshman?" one of them cockily asked.

 

Keiji smiled. "Not really. I came here to ask if you could possibly let me and my friend try out for the tennis club later."

 

"Didn't you see the announcement? We're not accepting any more freshmen starting this year," another of them explained.

 

"So go find some other club to try out for," a third one added.

 

Inwardly sighing Keiji smiled sensually. "You don't understand senpai..." he said as he lowered his voice a bit. “We have to get in the club no matter what,” he told them as he leaned closer to the third year that was just in front of him.

 

The third year, Akasawa Ishi, smirked. "No matter what?" he asked again before looking at his teammates slyly. "Willing to do anything just to get you and your friend a chance to try out?"

 

Keiji nodded. "Anything."

 

Another of the seniors, Matsue Kino, smirked and pulled Keiji onto his lap. "Then stay with us for lunch!" he exclaimed.

 

Akihiro smiled at how things were going, deciding to leave Keiji with things. "Hai, so I'll see you for afternoon classes Kei," he told him before going off to have lunch.

 

"Ah no fair! Buchou already snatched him up!" Another of the seniors whined.

 

_'So he's the captain,'_ Keiji thought with a mental nod before waving at Aki as he left. _'I'll just take this chance to gather data on all of you then and trounce you after class,'_ he told himself before chuckling inwardly, deciding to play along with the seniors.

 

As soon as the bell that signaled the end of lunch sounded off, Keiji returned to their classroom. Whipping out a piece of paper, he quickly wrote down a few things and handed it to Aki. "The regulars’ roster and their designations. The only all-rounder is their captain," he told him.

 

"That's disappointing," Akihiro pointed out critically as he took the paper and read through it before handing it back to Keiji. "But that aside Kei, the one from earlier was the captain wasn't he?" he asked. "The one who pulled you onto his lap?"

 

Keiji nodded before adjusting his glasses. "Matsue Kino, third year section 2. He's been a captain since his junior year since they lacked seniors during that time. He's called the 'Ringleader' by the rest of the regulars for his talent in keeping them all in check," he told his friend. "166 cm. Play style: all-rounder....and despite the fact that he's the captain he only played in the tournament once," he said with a frown. "And to top it off...he seems to be a cocky tennis newbie." Falling silent for a while, he took off his glasses and glared sharply at the head of his classmate in front of him. "Intensely annoying....I want to crush him," he said before grinning manically, licking his lips in anticipation of the match that would take place after classes.

 

"That explains why Rikkai Dai hasn't been able to beat Seigaku then," Akihiro concluded before watching a slight transformation occurring in his best friend.'I was wondering when he would show that side of him,'he admitted to himself with an inward chuckle. Realizing the classmate Keiji was staring at evidently shivering at the glare, Akihiro frowned and furrowed his brows. "Keiji!!" he scolded in a rough voice.

Snapping out his current state, Keiji brought up a hand to his eyes. "Gomen..." he apologized before slipping his glasses back on. “But yes, it explains why Rikkai hasn't been able to even reach semi-finals for the past years,” he followed up quickly. "It's about time that you live up to your dreams, Aki..." he said before smiling slyly at Akihiro. “The time to make Rikkai rise once again is due.”

 

Akihiro chuckled. "I believe you mean _our_ dream, Kei," he corrected. "We're going to take Rikkai back to the top. Starting with teaching those senpais just how to play Rikkai tennis," he said slyly, smirking.


	2. On the Courts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akihiro and Keiji face off against the current team's best players - their captain and vice-captain. The results of those practice matches could set in motion a plan to reshape the team as they know it.

When classes were over, Akihiro and Keiji had changed out of their school uniforms and into sports attire before heading to the tennis courts where their arrival caused quite a few heads to turn their way.

 

"Ah buchou, the freshies are here," Akasawa said as he jogged up to the gate and let the two in. "Yo! I'm the vice-captain, and since we're going to be nice to you two today, you can pick who'll be your opponent for the tryouts."

 

Keiji smiled before looking at Aki. "I'll go first...save the best for last," he told him before walking up. "I want a match...against your captain," he said boldly.

 

Matsue raised an eyebrow as he approached Keiji, smirking. "Hoooo, you've got some guts challenging me," he said cheekily.

 

Akihiro chuckled to himself as he moved to the bench and sat himself down. _'You have some guts acting tough, Matsue-senpai,'_ he thought in his mind, but outwardly smiled.

 

"I'm just returning the favor senpai," Keiji said before removing his glasses and handing them to Aki. "Hold on to these please...Tou-san will kill me if I break another pair," he said before smirking and walking off to one side of the court.

 

"Okay kid, don't say we didn't warn you," Akasawa said as he handed him a ball.

 

"Shouldn't we choose rough or---" Keiji began as Matsue entered the court.

 

"Meh, that's a waste of time. Go ahead and serve," the captain said dismissively with a wave of his hand.

 

"If you say so...." Keiji said as he took the ball.

 

Waiting for the captain to go to the receiving area, Keiji tried to keep his anxiousness in check but failed to do so; this being evident in the shaking of his hands.

 

Matsue grabbed his racket and moved to the other end of the court.

 

Akihiro stashed Keiji's glasses in a safe compartment in his bag before watching him on the court. Pursing his lips for a moment, noticing the anxiousness emanating from him, he brought a hand up to cup a side of his mouth. "Don't get too serious with him, Kei," he reminded him. _'But feel free to drive him to the ground~'_ he added as an afterthought.

 

Keiji chuckled before looking at the ball and throwing it in the air. "No promises this time, Sanada-buchou!" he yelled before serving the ball using something he had learned from his mother: the knuckle serve. Upon hitting the opposite side of the court the ball spun around wildly before shooting upwards, hitting the captain on the jaw.

 

"D-Did he say Sanada-buchou?" Akasawa said hesitantly before looking at Aki. "And what the hell was that serve just now?"

 

"T-That serve...." Matsue staggered, rubbing his jaw as he got back to his feet, having been knocked off by the impact.

 

"I don't think we introduced ourselves properly," Akihiro called out to Matsue and the rest of the tennis club as he got to his feet, his arms crossed in front of him with a smile on his face. "The one you're playing against is Yanagi Keiji, Matsue-senpai. As for myself, I'm Sanada Akihiro," he introduced as Keiji was given another ball. "So we highly encourage you not to hold anything back, Matsue-buchou," he teased before taking his seat again.

 

"Watch out buchou... I can't really control where the ball goes," Keiji warned before chuckling evilly. "Not that I really want to!" he called out before delivering another knuckle serve towards the captain who didn't avoid it, much like the next one.

 

"This is...insane...." Akasawa said before looking over to Matsue. "Do you still want to continue with this?!"

 

Getting uneasily onto his feet, Matsue wiped the blood that was trailing from the side of his mouth. "There's no way I'm conceding to a freshman!!" he shouted stubbornly as they changed courts after the first game. He clenched the ball tightly when it was his turn to serve. "I don't care who your parents are or how good you are... Nobody embarrasses me like that!!" he declared before delivering a powerful serve that quickly bounced off the court and hit Keiji across the face. "Douda?" he called out cheekily.

 

Akihiro sighed as he leaned back. "That was a bad move...." he muttered to himself.

 

As the ball rolled away from Keiji, the teen did nothing but hang his head low.

 

"Oya! You did it Matsue!" Akasawa called out proudly. "See boy! You shouldn't mess with the older kids! Look at him, he's trembli---" the vice-captain was cut off as he heard a faint chuckling.

 

The court fell silent as the chuckling grew louder. Keiji threw his head back, laughing demonically before abruptly stopping. An evil smile spread on his lips as he looked at Matsue in fiendish amusement, his eyes bloodshot. "You......I'm going to send you straight to hell!!" he declared before laughing out loud once again.

 

"A-Akuma..." Akasawa said as he stepped back.

 

"Hurry up and serve!!!" Keiji called out manically. "The sooner you do, the sooner I will see your blood spill!!"

 

A cold shiver went down Matsue's spine at the threat. _'J....Just who is this kid?!'_ he proclaimed in his head.

 

"Matsue-buchou, I believe it would help if I told you his mother is the former Kirihara Akaya. I'm sure you know his legacy," Akihiro called out to the captain, as if reading his mind.

 

Matsue stiffened almost entirely at having heard this piece of information. "Y....You're kidding...!!!" he stuttered out in reply, pointing his racket at Akihiro accusingly before he moved to serve despite his hand shaking terribly. "That's impossible!!!"

 

Akihiro sighed inwardly as his smile faltered. _'I did try to warn you....'_

 

Keiji returned the ball with ease, licking his lips in anticipation as he was sent a lob. "This guy is your captain?! What kind of a sick joke is this?!" he yelled before jumping into the air and smashed the ball down, aiming for the side of Matsue's head. "Lights out!" he said before chuckling.

 

"Matsue-buchou!!!!" a few juniors cried out as Matsue got hit straight on, knocking his sight out as he fell to the ground, his racket scuttling away from him from his fall.

 

Akihiro lowered his arms and took a racket from his bag before rising to his feet once more. Holding the racket between his body and his arm much like his father often did, he sternly called out, "KEIJI!! That's enough playtime."

 

Keiji abruptly stopped, fisting his palms he stiffly nodded his head. "Ch....hai Sanada-buchou," he answered before walking up to the other side of the courts. "You don't deserve this..." he told the senior before pulling off his regulars’ jacket and kicking him hard on the side.

 

"Matsue!!" Akasawa called out as he rushed to his friend and hurriedly called the others to get him off the court.

 

Keiji glared at him before walking past him towards Aki. "Hai...." he said. “Spoils of the battle,” he said with a smirk before sitting down on the bench and taking out his glasses from Aki's bag before slipping them back on. “The stage is set for you,” he said calmly.

 

"Arigatou," Akihiro thanked him as he lowered his racket and draped the jacket onto his shoulders, much to a number of complaints from the other non-regular members of the team. Ignoring all this, Akihiro took up his racket once more and headed to a side of the court before setting his eyes on Akasawa. "Would you indulge me in playing against me, Akasawa-fukubuchou?" he inquired with another wide and seemingly innocent smile plastered on his face.

 

_'He doesn't look as dangerous as the other one...'_ Akasawa thought to himself before taking Matsue's racket from the ground. He looked at it for a while in contemplation before walking to the court. "You're on," he said boldly.

 

"I don't think it would be necessary for you to know his data," Keiji told Aki from the bench as he leaned back. "He's at a much lower level than their captain was in."

 

"Why you little....." Akasawa muttered as he adjusted his grip on his racket. "I'm going to teach you brats a lesson!!" he called out before pulling out a ball and serving.

 

With a calm smile, Akihiro moved to return the service quite easily, the jacket moving along with him but still managing to retain itself draped on the boy's shoulders. The ball zoomed back to Akasawa's side of the court, bouncing on the end line and rolled away. "I should also tell you not to hold back on me, Akasawa-senpai," Akihiro pointed out firmly to the vice-captain as he moved to get into position for the next serve.

 

"H-Holding back?!" Akasawa said, clearly insulted.

 

"Aki...he wasn't holding back at all, so it seems," Keiji pointed out as Akasawa positioned himself for another serve.

 

"Shut up you brat!!!!" Akasawa yelled in annoyance before serving once again, this time aiming for the bench. The ball bounced and instead of going straight it went to the side just as Akasawa intended.

 

Keiji smirked. "It won't reach me," he said confidently.

 

In the blink of an eye, the ball heading for Keiji was returned as the slash of a racket whizzed across the air as it made a powerful bounce onto the very edge of the court before colliding with the fence behind Akasawa.

 

Akihiro, who had gripped his racket with both hands, straightened up and moved back to prepare for the next service. "Strike, like Lightning...." he muttered to himself as he got back into position.

 

"He's starting Fuurinkainzanrai..." Keiji muttered as he adjusted his position on the bench. Crossing his arms he continued to watch intently.

 

"What...what was that just now?" Akasawa said before looking back and seeing the embedded ball in the fence. "It was luck...that's right...just luck," he assured himself before serving his last service for the set.

Akihiro returned this one as well with another powerful return ace as he took the set and they changed courts. Glancing over to Akasawa, he prepared to serve before smiling. "Here I go then," he announced before serving.

 

The two got into a rather decent rally afterwards as Akihiro smirked. Not only was his jacket still on, but his tennis, he inherited from his mother, was already starting to show with each return.

 

_'What's happening?'_ Akasawa thought as the rally went on. _'I suddenly started feeling detached....'_ he observed as he returned another ball.

 

Keiji observed the vice-captain for a while and chuckled. "As far as using that......" he muttered before shaking his head.

 

Akasawa panted out, as he slowed down. _'Everything...is going dark....'_

 

When Akihiro had sensed that Akasawa was at his limit, he finished off the rally with another of the FuuRinKaInZanRai techniques."Invade, like Fire," he called out before moving forward and smashing the ball onto the court, knocking the racket clean off Akasawa's hands as Akihiro smiled calmly. "Now you know what we’re capable of," he informed the captain who had regained consciousness and was now only watching the game. "Shall I continue to crush your vice-captain in front of you or will you rush him off to the ER already?" he inquired with a cynical smile.

 

Matsue's teeth grit in annoyance before turning to his vice. "Oi, Akasawa!!! Can you still play?" he called out to him.

 

"He won't be able to hear you," Keiji said as he stood up. "He has no control over his senses right now so I highly recommend that you go and take him to the ER," he instructed.

 

"Look for a doctor named Oishi Shuichiro, he'll know what to do with Akasawa-senpai."

 

“Don't you brats think that we're putting you in as regulars!!!” One of the regulars suddenly shouted. "We said we'd let you in the team but that's all you're going to--"

 

"Did you hear that Renji?" a voice said from behind the regulars who immediately felt chills down their spines. "They're not letting our son be part of the regulars after taking down their captain...."

 

"On the other hand none of them are really capable of staying as regulars...and if you add the fact that they're downright rude..." his companion trailed off as he looked at the person beside him. “What do you think, Seiichi?”

 

Keiji sighed inwardly. "I knew you were going to come here early...the probability of you two doing that was..."

 

"100%" Renji and Keiji said together.

 

"I agree. Our son just trounced their vice-captain as well, so it's still a wonder why these kids don't recognize talent when they see it," Sanada Seiichi replied with a chuckle before turning to his husband. "Ne, Genichirou?"

 

"To think that Rikkai tennis has degraded this much... Tarondoru....." Genichirou pointed out. "They should be thankful that Akihiro and Keiji are here to bring Rikkai back on top!"

 

"Now, now, no need to get so fired up about all this," Seiichi told him before glancing over to their son and smiled widely. "That regulars’ jersey looks perfect on you, Aki-chan," he complimented.

 

"Arigatou, Kaa-san," Akihiro replied with a warm smile in return, waving at them.

 

"Then my first order of business as the new manager is to replace a few people," Renji said as he walked around the fence, followed by the other three, into the court. "We're overhauling the Rikkai tennis team," he proclaimed.

 

"See Masaharu, we're late because of you," Niou Hiroshi, formerly Yagyuu Hiroshi, accused his husband as he walked up to the troika and the demon ace of the former team, behind them were two silver haired boys wearing identical grins.

 

"It's the petenshii twins...." Keiji said with a grin as he watched them.

 

Niou Masaharu strolled into the courts with a grin on his face much like his two sons. "How could I resist pointing a few people astray?" he teased, glancing off to Akaya to which he pulled the same joke on long ago. "It's what I do best, puri~"

 

"Tou-san made one of them go into the janitors closet, it was so funny~" one of the twins, Mitsui said before chuckling in amusement as he remembered the incident.

 

"Mitsui," Hiroshi reprimanded.

 

"Hai!" Mitsui replied before straightening up and saluting.

 

"A new manager? No way," a regular said in uncertainty.

 

"Sanada Akihiro will be your captain from this day onward. Be sure to follow his orders; he knows best," Renji instructed. "As for the fate of the current regulars and the appointment of a vice-captain, I will leave to you," he told Aki before stepping back. _'Though there is already a 100% probability that I know just who your vice-captain will be.'_

 

"But he's just a freshman!" one of the junior regulars complained.

 

"I don't see anybody on this court who could beat him though," Seiichi pointed out in retort to the junior with a smile still on his face.

 

Akihiro smiled a wide smile quite like his mother before turning to Keiji. "Then it would follow that I'll appoint Kei as my vice-captain," he announced.

 

Keiji looked at them and sighed before turning his attention to Aki. "I'd do my best to be of assistance," he told him.

 

Renji nodded. "And for the rest of the regulars?" he asked.

 

Akaya looked at the remaining lot and smirked. "I want to--"

 

"Mitsui-kun, Shoichi-kun. Why don't you give their D1 pair a shot?" Keiji cut in, causing his mother to pout.

 

"You're just like your father," Akaya grumbled.

 

"'S long as these two take after me in some way I'm satisfied," Niou said, tussling both his sons' hair before pushing them forward. "Go on and show them just whose genes you inherited, puri~"

 

"Hai~" Shoichi replied alongside his twin as they went onto the court.

 

"That's something that should be decided with matches, Renji-jii," Akihiro pointed out to him before turning to the twins and sat himself down on the bench.

 

"We never really saw the Niou twins play yet have we, Gen?" Seiichi inquired as he moved to the bleachers along with the rest of his former teammates.

 

Genichirou shook his head. "Never," he confirmed. "But considering they're both petenshiis by blood, they might be an indestructible doubles pair."

 

"Exactly what I was aiming for!" Niou exclaimed as he lounged himself just behind the pair, pulling Hiroshi with him.

 

Pulling out a notebook, Keiji wrote down the name of the twins as soon as their opponents collapsed on the court.

 

"A-re? Where are the Marui-senpais?" Akaya asked suddenly as he realized that some were still missing.

Renji chuckled. "They most probably got lost..."


	3. Tennis Club Reborn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rest of the second-generation kids come together.

"Considering it's Jackal.... They probably fell asleep on the bus coming here," Seiichi pointed out.

"I'm surprised neither of them bothered learning to drive," Genichirou commented.

"They depend on public transportation that much," Niou teased.

"That's better than getting just one license for the both of them," Hiroshi pointed out before glancing at Niou and patting his boys on the head as soon as they came over.

"Did you see the looks on their faces?" Mitsui asked before chuckling in amusement before exchanging high fives with his brother.

"This leaves...Singles 3 and Doubles 2 open," Keiji said before looking at the rest of the regulars. "Shall we have a ranking match tomorrow, Aki?" he asked their captain.

Akihiro leaned back on the bench. "We'll wait for Hisashi-kun," he pointed out with a calm smile.

"Something tells me they're nearby," both Akihiro and Seiichi pointed out.

And right on cue, Marui Bunta and his husband Jackal were sprinting up to the tennis courts with their son Hisashi ahead of them. "We're here!!" Marui announced in a pant.

"You're late!!" Genichirou reprimanded.

"We fell asleep on the bus," Jackal admitted sheepishly before stopping in front of the group. "Hisa...go and introduce yourself," he told a teen behind him before gently pushing him forward.

"Marui Hisashi...I was absent because Tou-san forgot that this was the first day. Yoroshiku," he told the adults.

Akaya grinned. "That's a bit unexpected, Marui-senpai."

"'Kimura-buchou was right," Niou pointed out with a snicker.

"Wait a minute. We never met Hisashi-kun until now but...." Shoichi proclaimed before he and his twin turned to Akihiro, who was leisurely sitting on the bench.

"We introduced Aki-chan to all of you one time or another," Seiichi provided as an explanation.

"Hisashi-kun can play Singles for now against one of the previous regulars," Akihiro announced, despite some complaints from the rest of the club who fell silent with a glare from Genichirou. "Afterwards we can schedule a ranking match for the last three slots of the regulars’ position tomorrow."

"A tennis club comprised of mostly freshmen..." Seiichi chuckled to himself in amusement. "That's interesting when you think about it. Ne, Gen?"

"It's just like back then," Renji said with a smile. "A sign perhaps?" he offered.

"Mou...I came in a year after all of you," Akaya complained.

Keiji looked at the remaining regulars for a minute. "You over there, you're singles 1 right?" he asked.

"H-Hai!" one of the seniors said.

"Marui-kun, that's your opponent," Keiji said before adjusting his glasses.

"Hai..." Hisashi said with a grin before pulling out a piece of candy from his pocket and popping it in his mouth. "One will do~" he told himself with a nod before heading out to the courts.

"Gambatte, Hisa!" Jackal said proudly as he watched his son play.

Chewing on his usual stick of bubble gum, Marui watched his and Jackal's son play. "It's a good thing he became an all-around player. Between my net play and Jackal's baseline play though, Hisa's more of..." he trailed off as he blew a bubble right on cue when Hisashi performed a cord ball similar to his own. "A serve and volley player," he finished.

"But you have two sons, don't you?" Niou inquired, swatting Shoichi's askew hair down.

"Ah you mean Yuji~" Marui said enthusiastically. "Yeah, he'll be coming along next year. He’s just finishing elementary."

"Just like Sai," Renji said in approval. "At least there won't be just one lower year among them."

Akaya thought for a minute and brought up his hands to count something. "Hey~ the kids are enough to form a team," he pointed out.

"I think that was Seiichi's idea."

Keiji looked at the adults and sighed. "Why am I not surprised?" he muttered to himself before turning his attention back to Hisashi's match which was surprisingly almost done due to the fact that his opponent was almost hyperventilating in exhaustion. "Tsk... Such low stamina...." he said in disappointment.

While the others were not looking, Mitsui nudged his brother and pointed at the team’s water jugs not too far away.

Shoichi smirked before nodding in agreement to his twin's line of thought as they sneaked away to the jugs.

"Count on 'Kimura-buchou to think far ahead like this," Niou voiced out. "It's about time Ouja Rikkai Dai Fuzoku makes a stir in the tournaments this year, puri~"

"I agree. After Akaya graduated, their level of play decreased," Marui stated with a frown as the game finished between Hisashi and the senior. "You'd think the freshmen and juniors we left behind learned something."

"Tarondoru!" Genichirou reprimanded.

"Now, now, control your temper, Gen," Seiichi coaxed his husband.

"Piece of cake," Hisashi said with a grin as he walked back over to the adults.

Keiji nodded in satisfaction as he watched the senior dejectedly walk back towards the other team members.

"Do you have anything to say to them, Akihiro-kun?" Renji asked before hearing a crash and turned his attention to the water jugs where about five seniors have fainted.

"Awesomesauce!" Mitsui snickered before exchanging glances with his brother.

"Mitsui! Shoichi!" Hiroshi reprimanded.

"Yosha~" Niou cheered, grinning to his boys and gave them a thumbs-up for the move.

Shoichi and his brother grinned back at their father before moving up to apologize to their mother.

Akihiro got to his feet, crossing his arms, turning to the rest of the tennis club. "As I stated earlier, we'll have a ranking match for the rest of the members tomorrow afternoon for the remaining three positions on the regulars’ lineup," he announced. "Don't be late else I'll have you run 50 laps around the grounds," he warned.

Seiichi chuckled at this. "That's my Aki-chan~" he praised.

"Just 50?" Keiji asked. "You're going easy on them," he muttered before looking at the captain. "Matsue-senpai, could you email me a copy of the list of our team members?" he asked. "I have to make schedules and matchups."

Renji chuckled and patted him on the head.

"Oh believe me," Akihiro told Keiji with a chuckle. "With the endurance and stamina they presently have they'll be struggling to finish 20," he said cynically.

Seiichi approached his son and patted him on the head. "Good choice~" he complimented.

"It's about time you whip them into proper shape while you're waiting to complete your team," Genichirou instructed him.

Akihiro nodded. "Hai~" he answered with a smile.

"Why don't we all go out to eat dinner for tonight? It's a rare occasion that we're together and has a lot of time on our hands,” Yanagi suggested.

"I second the motion!!!" Mitsui and his brother said together.

"Honestly, we just ate before coming here!" Niou told the two with a grin.

"We, on the other hand, are famished," Marui announced.

Mitsui frowned before adjusting his facial expression to a more pleading one before turning to his fathers. "But I'm already hungry..." he whimpered.

Hiroshi brought a hand up to his face and looked away. "Your call, Masaharu," he said.

"I've been making the decisions all day!" Niou complained to his husband.

"Then I'll save you the trouble and decide for you!" Marui cut in. "And I say you all join us for dinner!"

"Yes, dinner sounds tempting. That way I don't have to worry about cooking tonight~" Seiichi admitted with a chuckle.

"Even though it was my turn," Genichirou corrected with a frown.

"Yosha!" the twins cheered as they pumped their fists in the air.

Akaya grinned at Keiji and patted him on the shoulder. "Tough luck Kei. Looks like you won't be getting to make dinner this time."

"Not that I really wanted to..." Keiji answered before looking at his parents. "Shouldn't we pick Sai up then?" he asked.

"Who's Sai?" Mitsui asked them.

"My little brother," Keiji told him.

"He's already on his way here," Renji assured his son as he showed him a message from his phone. "Even if your brother is a lot like your mother, it doesn't mean he didn't get anything from me," he explained slyly.

"Kaa-saaaaaaaaaan~" came a voice from behind them before Akaya was unceremoniously glomped.

"Sai..." Keiji acknowledged and his brother waved at him enthusiastically.

Spotting the boy, Mitsui blinked several times before a slight blush appeared on his cheeks.

Hiroshi chuckled when he saw this and promptly nudged his husband and discreetly pointed at their son.

Niou glanced down at the indicated son, noticed that familiar look on his face before glancing momentarily to Sai and smirked.

"What about Yuji?" Seiichi asked Marui with a calm smile.

"Ah, he wanted to watch the basketball club," Marui replied. "We should be seeing him in the gy--"

"Kaa-saaaan~" came another voice, running up to Jackal.

"This is Yuji. Yuji, say hi~" Marui instructed his younger son.

Yuji looked up at the other adults and kids before waving. "Hi~" he greeted.

"Hey, he's my age!" Sai said happily before waving at him. "Oh cool, twins!" he exclaimed before looking at the Niou twins and walking up to them.

"He's the hyper side of Akaya," Hiroshi said in amusement.

"And your hair is silver!!" Sai said before moving up close to Shoichi, much to Mitsui's dismay, to get a good look at his hair.

Keiji cleared his throat. "Sai...personal space," he reminded his brother.

"Hai, onii-chan!" Sai said before stepping back, still in awe at the boys' hair.

"Thanks~" Shoichi replied, grinning proudly.

Deciding to give his son a hand, Niou nudged Mitsui forward towards Sai.

"We should get g--"

"Yanagi-kun!" Matsue called out, moving up to him amidst the group.

Akihiro raised an eyebrow at the senior's sudden appearance, his regulars’ jacket still on the freshman's shoulders.

"I wondered if you'd want to go out with me," he asked bluntly.

Genichirou furrowed his brow but held his tongue.

_'This boy has some nerve asking Keiji out in front of everybody like this...'_ Seiichi thought brightly with a chuckle to himself.

Keiji's glasses gleamed before glaring at the senior. "Nur wenn du stirbst und Futtermittel Ihre inneren Organe, die Hunde der Hölle," he said coldly.

"Er....what did he say?" Mitsui asked.

"Only if you die and feed your internal organs to the dogs of hell~" Sai translated helpfully.

"Why didn't he just say that in Japanese?!" Mitsui complained.

"Saying those kinds of things sound better in German~" the younger Yanagi answered.

Matsue was rendered speechless at being rejected - more so in a different language - as the group filtered out towards the gates, all agreeing to have dinner together. Fisting his hands, Matsue turned to them and called out. "I swear I'll have you go out with me, Yanagi Keiji!!!"

Akihiro, who lagged behind with his parents, stopped and turned to Matsue before moving back towards the senior.

"Aki?" Genichirou called, looking around before spotting him moving up to Matsue.

"Yabbe, he seems annoyed," Seiichi pointed out with a chuckle, referring to their son.

As soon as he was a few centimeters from Matsue, Akihiro smiled deviously. "Do you plan to do something desperate to go out with my friend, Matsue-senpai?" he inquired.

"That's none of your business!" Matsue spat back.

The smile remained on Akihiro's lips for a second longer before his eyes sharpened as they focused on the senior, his smile fading. "You so much as talk to Keiji unless absolutely necessary, and I swear I'm going to make you experience hell this year...."

Matsue felt his spine shiver at that glare. _'..........W…What the hell...?!'_

Akihiro's smile slowly returned. "Are we clear?"

Matsue inched back hesitantly before nodding fervently. "H-H-Hai! Sanada-buchou!" he proclaimed before running off.

Akihiro nodded to himself before turning on his heel and catching up with the rest of the group.

"Well what do you know he got his threatening skills from Seiichi too," Jackal said in amusement.

"87.6% chance that you will need a lift rather than commuting," Renji told the Marui family. "Who's riding with who?"

Sai raised his hand. "Can I ride with the twiiiiiiiiiiiiiins?" he asked hopefully.

Akaya frowned. "No!"

"It's more effective than Gen's," Seiichi teased with a chuckle as Akihiro re-joined the group, taking the time to tousle his hair. "That's my boy~" he added with a content smile.

"We have a van~" Niou announced, pulling out his car keys. "The Marui’s can hitch with us, puri~"

"You sure about that?" Marui inquired.

"Yup. Plenty of space for four more~" the petenshii declared. "Ne, Yaaaaaaaaaaaaagyuu?" he asked his husband.

"They. Have. Spaaaaaace!!!" Sai whined as he tugged on Akaya's sleeve. "Just this once! Onegai!!" he pleaded.

Yanagi sighed before looking at Hiroshi who merely shrugged in reply. "It's fine with me," he said.

"Yosha!" Sai cheered before heading off with the Niou’s.

Keiji shook his head. "Mattaku...." he said before heading to the car.

"We'll lead the way," Yanagi told the group before heading to their car as well.

"Convoy it is then," Genichirou concluded as he and his family headed to their car as well.

"Yosh~ This way freeloaders!" Niou called out to the big group, guiding them to the van.

"Shoichi! It's your turn to ride shotgun! Hurry before kaa-san sits there!!!" Mitsui urged as he pushed his twin forward.

_'I'm not even going to bother...'_ Hiroshi thought as he silently walked at the back of the group.

"Ne ne ne ne, Hiro-jii...the one being pushed forward is Shoichi-nii, right? And the other is Mitsui-nii?" Sai asked.

"That's right," Hiroshi confirmed.

"Yosh! I know their names!"

Niou chuckled as he moved to the driver's seat after unlocking the car.

"No it's not!!" Shoichi complained, trying to prevent Mitsui from pushing him further towards the car.

Yuji kept close to Marui as they followed the other family, tugging on his arm. "Kaa-san, I can't tell them apart!!" he complained, pointing to the twins.

Marui grinned. "There're a few subtle differences between them," he explained before turning to Hisashi. "Can you spot 'em, Hisa-chan?" he asked his older son.

"Sure....the Mitsui guy likes Sai..." Hisashi observed.

Jackal blinked and looked at him strangely.

"E-to...and he has...longer hair?" the older Marui added hesitantly.

"Really? That I didn't notice," Marui admitted, sticking his tongue out.

"Oh yeaaaaaaaah," Yuji said, realizing that fact as well as they all flooded into the back seats of the van.

"I'm not sitting in front!" Shoichi proclaimed as soon as their mother reached the car, pulling him towards the shotgun seat. "You sit in front, Kaa-san!" he urged.

Hiroshi blinked before looking at the twins. "If...you say so," he said before getting in the front seat.

Sai hopped inside the van and sat himself near the window in the first row of seats.

Mitsui paused for a while before pushing his brother away. "Out of the way! I'm getting in first!" he said as he scrambled to get on.

Shoichi shrugged and let his brother in first before boarding the van last and closed the door.

"Yosh, everybody in and accounted for?" Niou inquired, adjusting the mirrors while waiting.

"Hai!" Mitsui said as he took a mental headcount.


	4. Reunion Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The original team along with their families go off to eat dinner together, as both generations brainstorm over fundraising for the tennis club. Some memories are unearthed and playful arguments ensue.

Soon, they were on their way and Mitsui grew more disappointed by the minute when Sai wasn't showing as much interest in him as he did to his twin brother. _'This isn't fair!'_ he thought with a pout. Once they reached the restaurant and got out, he jammed his hands in his pockets before following the group inside.

 

Once they had a private function room rented out and settled into seats around two tables segregated by adults and kids, a round of orders was made by the older group while the kids were left to converse with each other.

 

Akihiro, who sat himself as usual beside Keiji, patted him on the shoulder. "No more worries about Matsue-senpai," he told him. "I took care of things for you."

 

"Domo," Keiji said gratefully before removing his glasses and cleaned them with his shirt. "Though I could have also taken care of him on my own," he said with a smirk.

 

"Glasses on, Keiji..." Renji said from the other table.

 

Keiji nodded before slipping them back on. "...but I do appreciate the gesture Aki," he told the captain.

 

Shoichi, who was on one side of Sai's, was talking to the younger boy about fancy dining and table settings.

 

Mitsui, on the other hand was mentally flailing. _'Why didn't I ever listen to kaa-san when he talked about these things?!'_ he said.

 

"Ne, Shoichi-nii, if you like pasta then maybe you can try something that I made myself someday!!" Sai offered.

 

Keiji chuckled when he heard this. "I suggest you take him up on that offer, he makes them well....na Aki?"

 

Having been a frequent dinner guest at the Yanagi’s along with his parents, Akihiro nodded his agreement as he turned to Shoichi. "Yes, Sai-kun does indeed make some good pasta dishes," he complimented.

 

"Thankfully he didn't inherit Akaya's style of cooking," Niou teased from the other table, snickering as he avoided a swipe of the arm from said devil ace.

 

"Actually, Masaharu...Akaya's cooking has improved," Renji said with a smile.

 

"Ha!" Akaya said in triumph.

 

"....by 1.34%"

 

"Renji!!!" Akaya exclaimed, causing the people at their table to laugh.

 

Meanwhile at the other table, Mitsui was busy moping. "You should try talking to him," Hisashi suggested. "It sure beats just keeping quiet," he pointed out.

 

Mitsui blinked and looked at him before thinking for a while. He looked at Sai for a moment before spotting something sticking out of his bag, "TENSOUDER!!!!" he exclaimed.

 

Sai looked at him and smiled widely. "You're a fan!!!" he identified.

 

Keiji resisted the urge to facepalm.

 

Shoichi blinked for a moment. "Tensouder?" he repeated before moving around to try and see Sai's bag before spotting the item. "Aaaah, a-re," he identified, pointing at it. "The one from Goseiger."

 

"Toys like that is trash," Akihiro muttered over to Keiji, making sure Sai and the others who were sitting across them couldn't hear.

 

"You should see his room there...he has every transformation device from all the sentai series known to man," Keiji said quietly before looking over to his brother. "Kaa-san gets him the stuff. 98.5% probability that Tou-san wants to throw them all out though," he added.

 

Mitsui held up his finger for a while before reaching in his bag and pulling out a Tensouder of his own.

 

"Masa.....How and when did he get that?" Hiroshi asked Niou with a glare when he spotted the toy.

 

"Sou....." Akihiro watched as Mitsui pulled out another Tensouder from his bag before inwardly shrugging, leaning back on his chair.

 

"Get what?" Niou asked with a frown, finding it unfair that he was being accused of something as he glanced over to Mitsui. "...I didn't get that for him," he stated seriously.

 

Hiroshi frowned. "Then who...?" he wondered.

 

Mitsui overheard this and grinned before looking at his parents. "I saved up for it!!!" he said proudly.

 

"I see," Hiroshi said before looking away.

 

"Those things are a waste of money," Seiichi pointed out seriously to the adult table in a hushed voice.

Genichirou took a moment to glance at Akaya who was averting his gaze. "Someone doesn't seem to mind it though," he pointed out with a smirk.

 

"Akaya wouldn't be able to deny Sai-chan's request for them, I'll bet," Marui guessed.

 

"That would be because he is a frustrated collector of the sentai series merchandise himself," Renji informed them, causing Akaya to look down even more.

 

Taking pity on him, Hiroshi smiled. "It wouldn't hurt anyway...they are still kids," he pointed out.

 

"What set did you get? I got Alata's!" Sai said happily.

 

"I got Agri's!" Mitsui said with a smirk before looking at his brother with a triumphant expression.

 

Feeling a little left out, Shoichi pulled his out own bag, revealing a Tensouder as well. "What a coincidence~ I saved up for Hyde's set~" he announced.

 

"They really are twins..." Yuji pointed out to his brother, pointing at the Tensouders.

 

"Hyde's my second favorite character!!" Sai cheered before looking over at Shoichi. "Can I look at your cards?" he asked hopefully.

 

"Sure thing~" Shoichi replied, reaching out for his cards and showed them to Sai.

 

Feeling his jaw drop significantly, Mitsui could do nothing but stare as Sai proceeded to fawn over Shoichi once again.

 

"It's just like watching Hiroshi and Masaharu fighting over something...though they never did," Jackal observed.

 

"Hey we never fought about things like that!" Niou defended with a frown.

 

"Not in front of everybody else, I'm sure," Marui teased.

 

Keiji sighed heavily before turning his attention fully on Akihiro. "You know Aki...there's also a matter of funding for the club that needs to be discussed," he said. "After the decline of chances to reach even Kanto, the school has dropped its budget for the Rikkai Tennis team. I suggest we have a fundraiser in the meantime while we have not convinced the school to fund us again," he shared. _'Probability that the fundraiser will be a hit if Aki contributes is....100%!!!!'_

 

"What would be a good kind of fundraiser then?" Akihiro inquired with a smile.

 

"I don't want you participating in those things, Aki-chan," Seiichi called out to his son when he overheard their conversation.

 

Chuckling, Akihiro nodded. "Hai, Kaa-san~" he replied.

 

Keiji, having heard what the former captain said, hung his head. "I was hoping you would participate," he said honestly. "Your mother kills my data," he muttered.

 

"Welcome to the club," Renji told him with a chuckle.

 

Smile still in place, Akihiro chuckled. "Kaa-san just doesn't want me to do something when someone else like you is more than capable of doing it," he explained calmly.

 

"Exactly," Seiichi agreed.

 

"Me doing it?" Keiji asked him with a frown. "That's illogical....we all know that I'm not really one to perform," he said.

 

"Hey! You were great back in kindergarten!" Akaya told him, causing the adults to chuckle.

 

"That was in kindergarten..." Keiji muttered. "I'm older now and---"

 

"More prone to the embarrassment that will last the entire school year, puri~" Mitsui finished for him, having recovered from the shock.

 

"Don't worry, Sanada-buchou, Sho and I can help in convincing Yanagi-fukubuchou about certain things...right Sho?" he asked his brother with a grin.

 

"Nii-san's going to present?" Sai asked before looking over at his own brother.

Hisashi chuckled. "Baptisim of fire?" he asked.

 

Shoichi nodded in agreement with his brother and turned to Akihiro. "Just give us the go-signal and Mitsui and I will think up of something to help Yanagi-fukubuchou along!"

 

"Baptism of fire?" Yuji repeated his brother's words in confusion.

 

Chuckling to himself Akihiro turned to Keiji, somehow considering it.

 

"You'd be surprised what vice-captains do when they need to," Seiichi informed the kids, nudging Genichirou who grunted and turned away in embarrassment.

 

"A-re? You mean Sanada-fukubuchou went through something like that?" Akaya asked curiously before looking at Seiichi. "Tell me!!! I wasn't around yet when you guys were first years!!!" he pleaded.

 

"In other words, tradition," Hisashi said before patting his brother on the head, "Well in this case, tradition during the time of our parents."

 

Keiji looked at the twins and glared. "I will not be pulled into mindless---"

 

"So buchou~ want him to dance, sing, act or all three?" Mitsui asked Aki, completely ignoring Keiji.

 

"Sing and dance," Akihiro and Seiichi replied simultaneously to Mitsui and Akaya with similar smirks on their faces.

 

"We needed to get some extra funding for new tennis balls to practice with since our senpais didn't know how to save them," Niou explained.

 

"So we put up a little fundraising activity," Marui continued. "And since Yukimura-buchou wanted no part of it..."

 

"I was forced to participate," Genichirou finished with a frown.

 

"And he did a solo..." Renji said with a smile before looking at Keiji who was dreading it more by the second.

 

"I think Bunta and I still have a copy of his performance at home," Jackal said.

 

"Let me borrow it!! I want to seeeeeeeeeee!!!" Akaya pleaded.

 

"Sure, I'll have Hisa give it to Keiji tomorrow then."

 

 

"Yosh!!"

 

Keiji in the meantime was muttering things under his breath while Mitsui moved closer to his brother to plot.

 

"Ne ne ne... Akihiro-nii...can I watch what Nii-san will do?" Sai asked hopefully. "I wasn't around during the kindergarten presentation because I was sick..."

 

"Of course Sai-kun," Akihiro agreed immediately, nodding to the younger Yanagi. "I'm sure Kei will be practicing in school to save him the embarrassment," he said with a chuckle. "Though I don't think that will help much since Renji-jii will be around as well," he continued.

 

Seiichi smiled. "Quite like Gen~"

 

"Since it's a fundraiser, why don't we all go and watch?" Jackal suggested to them, "We might see our old teachers that are still alive and around."

 

"Please no..." Keiji said before turning around to face them.

 

Renji chuckled. "No butting in the adults’ conversation, Kei...." he reminded.

 

Keiji muttered to himself again before glaring at his lap.

 

"I don't mind helping out with the fundraising~" Niou said animatedly.

 

"Don't get carried away again like last time Niou," Marui commented. "Last time we had a fundraiser you had all the girls swooning with your impersonation of Yukimura-buchou," he reminded.

 

"Not my fault they found him terribly attractive," Niou defended.

 

Seiichi chuckled at this. "Yes, that was quite effective, wasn't it?"

 

"It still wasn't Sei," Genichirou muttered darkly to himself.

 

"Then maybe we can do the same!" Mitsui piped up. "Sho and I have wanted to try that trick!!" he told the adults.

Hiroshi frowned. "You boys take after your father too much," he said, causing Mitsui to grin widely.

 

"Yuji and I can help too, after all, we need all the help we can get," Hisa told them. "I don't expect that the senpais would be very productive if we ask them to help."

Mitsui grinned. "Why not get fukubuchou to ask them? They seem to listen to him if he tried a certain approach," he suggested.

 

"96% probability that I won't have a choice in the matter anymore," Keiji said in defeat before looking over to Aki. "What do you want me to do exactly?" he asked.

 

"But you won't need to be doing that with Aki-chan," Seiichi told the kids. "I don't want to see anybody impersonating my son," he warned the Niou twins.

 

"Sei's protective of Aki that way," Genichirou provided as an explanation.

 

Akihiro chuckled. "Come up with a song and dance number," he told Keiji.

 

_'The only song and dance I can do is 'Banana no Namida' even if my life depended on it,' _ Keiji thought ruefully.

 

Renji looked at his son for a moment before chuckling. "I suggest you ask the twins for help. They're Niou's..." he said.

 

"We'll help however way we can~" Shoichi stated proudly.

 

"Anything will do," Akihiro reassured Keiji, patting him on the back as their food finally arrived.

 

"I didn't notice how long we had to wait for the food," Marui commented.

 

Keiji nodded before turning his attention to the food.

 

"I wasn't expecting this...." Akaya said as he looked at the twins who were suddenly acting like gentlemen as soon as the food arrived.

 

"There was a 98.5% chance that Hiroshi would at least get table manners covered before Masaharu could," Renji told him with a chuckle.

 

Dinner finished smoothly before the large group split the bill and headed to their separate homes, promising to make more arrangements of meeting one another during the kids' after-school practices.


	5. Ranking Match

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The following day, the rest of the Rikkai Dai team engage in ranking matches to gauge who can stand among the second generation. Meanwhile, the second generation have matches of their own.

The following day, however, shifted their attention from the fundraising back to the ranking match of the Rikkai Tennis Club that the freshmen regulars would be overseeing.

 

"Hai, these will be the match-ups for today," Keiji said as he handed a piece of paper to the captain. "Tou-san won't be coming in... he ate something that didn't agree with his stomach apparently."

 

"Oya...why aren't Sho and I in that list?" Mitsui asked with a frown.

 

"Well neither am I," Hisashi added.

 

Keiji adjusted his glasses and smirked before pulling out another sheet of paper. "Because we have our own block. I can't put us in a block along with them because if I did that we would all come out as the respective member of the block we're placed in," he explained. "Besides...there's a 96% chance that everyone in this group wants to play against one another already."

 

"What's the remaining 4%?" Hisashi asked carefully.

 

"That would be me already knowing the ranking of the five of us and not really wanting to bother with a match.... but it's always fun to watch and play a good game, wouldn't you agree?" Keiji said.

 

Taking the ranking match tables, Akihiro reviewed them for a while before nodding.

 

"Sanada-buchou isn't on our list either," Shoichi remarked.

 

Akihiro smiled when he heard this. "Do you honestly want to play a match against me?" he asked plainly.

 

"Keiji's name is on the list," Hisashi pointed out.

 

Mitsui grinned. "Does that mean that if we beat him we get to be vice-captain?" he asked Aki.

 

"Nobody makes a better vice-captain than Kei," Akihiro pointed out as he glanced over to his best friend with a smile. "It would be interesting to see if you can beat him though," he finished.

 

"I like a challenge~" Shoichi cheered before grabbing his racket. "Yosh! First match is between me and Marui!" he announced, pointing to the match table.

 

"This will be fun~" Hisa said with a nod before heading to court A with Shoichi.

 

"I'm going to own your ass fukubuchou," Mitsui said smugly as he pointed his racket at Keiji.

 

"I don't even need to take my glasses off," Keiji told him before walking towards the other court where they were assigned in.

 

"What was that supposed to mean?!" Mitsui asked.

 

"He doesn't need to be serious to beat you," Akihiro supplied with a smile. "But all the same, try your best, Mitsui-kun," he added.

 

Mitsui frowned before marching off to the court. "Then I'll just have to make him serious!!!!" he proclaimed.

 

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Keiji warned him.

 

"Why not, megane?"

 

"You wouldn't want to get injured."

 

Akihiro chuckled. "I forget that this is your first time actually playing an entire one-set match against each other," he pointed out matter-of-factly. _'But it would be interesting to see just how long Mitsui-kun can last against a devil-mode Keiji... Especially considering that he's the petenshii and the gentleman's son...'_

 

Soon the matches started.

 

Hisashi was getting more frustrated by the moment as his opponent made him run back and forth, effectively depleting his stamina. "Tsk. You're making me go all out," he said before pausing as they changed courts. "Give me a sec," he told Shoichi as he removed his power wrist and ankle weights. "Alright...let's do this," he said before moving up to his court.

 

Shoichi grinned. "So you were giving me a handicap this whole time?" he complained, gripping his racket tighter. "I should probably get serious as well, now shouldn't I?" he asked before he did a speed serve.

 

Hisashi smirked. "Let's just say I was gauging you," he answered before returning the serve.

 

* * *

 

In the other court, Keiji calmly looked over at Mitsui who was already panting harshly. "Dammit!!!" the younger twin said as he gritted his teeth. He had been aiming for Keiji's glasses ever since they started, wanting the other to remove them and show this other side that he and Aki were talking about.

 

Keiji sighed. "98% chance that you won't give up until you actually see...." he said before shaking his head and looking at Aki who was seated on the bench. “We have one set left....may I?” he asked.

 

Akihiro, who was glancing at the upperclassmen's matches for a while, turned to Keiji and chuckled. "Only if you don't mind me slapping you back to your senses afterwards, Kei," he replied teasingly.

 

Keiji blinked and frowned. "...Very well then...." he said before taking off his glasses and chucking them to his bag nearby.

 

"Yosha!" Mitsui cheered before grabbing a ball to serve. "Now let's see what's so special about you!!" he called out before serving.

 

Keiji was silent as he effortlessly returned the ball.

 

"Oya! What was that retu--" The younger was cut off when the ball made contact with his arm. "W-What the hell..." he said before looking over to the other side of the court. He froze when he saw Keiji. The vice-captain was smirking evilly at him, eyes bloodshot.

 

Akihiro shook his head. "This is why we warned you, Mitsui-kun," he pointed out to the twin.

 

* * *

It was a pretty even match between Shoichi and Hisashi, returning each other's shot. "Owari desu! Adieu!!" the Niou twin called out. "Laser Beam!!!" he announced. Shoichi's laser beam took the last point from Hisashi and made the older of the twins the winner of the match.

"That pretty much sucked," complained Hisa as he went over to court B where the match between Keiji and Mitsui was ending.

 

"Yosh~" Shoichi cheered as he went to watch the other match as well before his eyes widened. "Mitsui!!" he cried out to his twin brother.

 

"This is what you get for being so cocky you little worm!!!"

 

"Fukubuchou?!" Hisa exclaimed and ran to the court, coming just in time to see Mitsui take a ball to the gut. "W-What the hell is he?"

 

"Game set," Akihiro announced as he got to his feet and moved towards Keiji.

 

"So that's... Yanagi-fukubuchou's tennis...." Shoichi breathed out in slight awe and fear.

 

Akihiro moved in front of Keiji before raising his hand and used the back of his hand to slap his vice-captain squarely across the face. "Wake up, Keiji!" he bellowed, his brows furrowed in slight anger.

Keiji abruptly stopped as he was slapped. "G-Gomen..." he said quickly before trying to get a grip of himself, "M-My glasses...where are..."

 

"Here you go," Hisashi said quickly as he retrieved the glasses from Keiji's bag and handed it to him.

 

Keiji quickly slipped them on and sighed. "Arigatou..." he told Hisashi before walking over to Mitsui. “Are you alright?” he asked as he offered a hand to help him up.

 

Mitsui took it and nodded. "I'm never playing another match against you for as long as I want to stay alive," he told him.

 

"I'll go with that," Keiji told him.

 

Hisa tilted his head to the side in wonder for a while before looking at Aki. "How do you manage to control him?" he asked curiously.

 

Resuming his smile, Akihiro nodded before walking back to the bench and sat down before answering Hisashi's question. "Saa, I just seem to be able to," he replied freely, chuckling before turning to the other ranking matches with the upperclassmen.

 

"They're either playing one-sided matches or are committing so many errors it appears to be even," Shoichi pointed out.

 

Keiji helped Mitsui to the bench before looking at the older twin. "I believe our match is next," he told him.

 

Hisashi blinked and looked at Shoichi. "Are you pushing through with that?" he asked.

 

"I need to avenge my brother at the very least," Shoichi said with a smirk, grabbing his racket and turning to Keiji. "Let's go!"

 

Keiji nodded and went over to the court. "Rough or smooth?" he asked as he adjusted his glasses. _'With my stamina depleted by that last match...I think I may need to--'_ his thoughts were cut off when he felt the side of his face sting a bit. _'I think I'll just take my chances with fainting...'_ he finished. "I'm sorry, Niou-kun but I may have to finish this match quickly," he said.

 

"Rough," Shoichi replied.

 

Akihiro turned to them when he heard Keiji's claim before frowning. "Kei.... You..." he trailed off. _'I think I may need to call for a stretcher....'_ he thought to himself before smiling softly. _'Don't be reckless now, Kei.'_

 

Keiji, true to his word, didn't hold back at all, aiming to finish the match quickly. By the last set, he was panting hard. _'Tsk....this is what I get for not finishing tou-san's training menu on time,'_ he scolded himself before waiting for Shoichi's serve.

 

"Shoichi, wait," Akihiro called, walking onto the court after promptly scaring a pair of seniors who weren't playing a match to get a stretcher. The captain walked up to Keiji and lowered his racket. "You're not going to last another rally, Kei," Akihiro told him.

 

"I will if I remove my glasses," Keiji answered. "There's a 100% chance that I'll last this last set if I do that. Besides.....my match isn't over yet," he explained before raising his racket again. "Please step back Aki..." he asked the captain.

 

"I said you wouldn't last, _Keiji_ ," Akihiro stated seriously before smiling. "Do you still plan on continuing if I tell you that if and when you get into your devil-mode you'd faint after returning Shoichi-kun's serve?"

 

_'Probability that I just made him pissed by defying him 100%!!!'_ Keiji thought in alarm before taking a cautious step back.

 

"Hoooo...he's actually afraid of buchou," Mitsui pointed out from the benches.

 

Hisashi nodded. "Buchou must be something if a demon is afraid of him," he pointed out.

 

Keiji swallowed nervously at the aura Aki was giving out before facing Shoichi. "Gomen but I will concede," he told him.

 

Shoichi lowered his racket. "E-Eh? Okay..."

 

Akihiro's smile remained before patting Keiji lightly on the shoulder. "Wise decision. Now go get some rest. You're about ready to collapse," he instructed the vice-captain before moving back to see the progress of the other matches.

 

"Sugoi...." Shoichi breathed out as he walked back to the bench where Hisashi and Mitsui were.

 

"Collapse? That's illogical right now since the match is--" Keiji was cut off when his world suddenly turned black.

 

At the same time, the seniors who were tasked to bring the stretcher arrived. "Fukubuchou!" they exclaimed as they rushed over.

 

Mitsui blinked. "As expected from the son of the child of god...." he said in awe.

 

Hisashi stared at Aki. "I'm not even going to ask."

 

"It's no wonder he's the captain..." Shoichi admitted. "Although, we've never seen him play seriously, have we Mitsui?" he asked his brother.

 

Meanwhile, one of the seniors came up with two of the three-block results. "Sanada-buchou! Two of the blocks finished early. Matsue and Akasawa won in their respective blocks," he reported.

 

Scanning the table, Akihiro nodded. "Come back to me with the results from the third block as soon as it's done," he instructed before the senior complied and ran off.

 

"No need to scare them buchou," a voice said as he approached Aki. "I came out from the third block, Tachibana Kira." He smiled and bowed politely. "I should have known someone would beat me in becoming a captain," he added with a chuckle.


	6. The Regulars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tachibana Kira, a second-generation Fudomine offspring, announces his presence as part of the Rikkai tennis club, vying for a spot on the team as a regular. This brings to light just how close Aki and Keiji really are.

"You would have had more of a chance with that position if your parents sent you to their own school, Tachibana-kun," Akihiro told him with a wide smile.

 

"None of the other Fudomine regulars' kids pushed through with going to Fudomine," Kira explained. "They closed their tennis team after my kaa-san's graduation. Never opened ever since. Hey, what happened to Yanagi-kun?" he asked as he saw Keiji on a stretcher as the seniors brought him inside the building to take him to the infirmary. "Akuma-kun got out of hand again and you had to knock him out?" he asked slyly.

 

* * *

 

Mitsui blinked as he looked at Kira, "They know each other?" he asked.

 

"It looks like it...." Shoichi agreed.

 

"Looks like he'll be a good addition to the regulars if he gets along with buchou," Hisa pointed out.

 

"The keyword there is 'if'," Shoichi clarified. "By the looks of things Sanada-buchou isn't so keen with chatting with him."

 

* * *

 

"Sou ka... So that's what happened," Akihiro said before glancing over to Keiji. "And playing two straight games was stressful even for him. Sometimes he doesn't know his own limits, despite him being a data master like his father," he added with a soft smile.

 

"He never does things accurately when he himself is concerned," Kira said fondly before looking at the other regulars and waved at them before looking at the time. "Hai, I'll just go back to court D now. See ya' buchou!" he said before walking back to the courts.

 

Akihiro resisted the urge to roll his eyes before heading back to the bench to sit down.

 

* * *

 

Hisa blinked. "I think...I get why buchou doesn't like him so much," he said as he stroked his chin.

 

Mitsui mimicked the action and nodded to himself.

 

"He talks too much," Shoichi concluded from beside his twin brother. "No wonder buchou's annoyed."

 

* * *

 

After a while, Keiji came back out to the courts, still feeling slightly woozy but just enough to get back on his feet.

 

"Fukubuchou's back!" Hisa said as he jumped off the bleachers "And..what--"

 

"What the hell is he doing with that Tachibana kid?" Mitsui finished for him.

 

Hearing the exclamation from the rest of the regulars, Akihiro turned to Keiji, about to wonder out loud why he decided to come back out so soon. He paused as his eyes sharpened when he realized that he was walking alongside Tachibana. Smiling to hide his annoyance, Akihiro stood and walked up to Keiji. "Are you sure you should be getting up already?" he asked.

 

"Aa. I have no concussions to speak of and was technically in there to rest," Keiji explained. "I won't be able to rest if I keep worrying about how you're doing here," he told the captain.

 

"I tried convincing him to stay behind," Kira put in.

 

"Why are you with him in the first place?" Mitsui asked with a frown.

 

Kira smiled and merely pointed to his ankle where there was a bandage.

 

"So is that a sprain? Broken?" Shoichi asked curiously.

 

"You don't look injured," Mitsui said as he poked Kira's ankle.

 

"Hey! Cut that out!" Kira exclaimed.

 

* * *

 

"I'm a little surprised you assume there'll be something bad happening if you're not around me, Kei," Akihiro pointed out with a smile.

 

"I'm not assuming things, I'm just being careful," Keiji said as he adjusted his glasses before stepping up to his usual spot beside Aki.

 

Akihiro chuckled, glancing over to Tachibana for a moment. "Kei, I need to speak with you in private," he announced before heading off to the faucets.

 

Shoichi moved up from Tachibana's other side and poked it too. "Yeah, you weren't limping at all either," he complained.

 

"I said cut it out!!" Kira told them.

 

"And I don't think you can get a sprain so easily. Your mother is Kamio Akira, right?" Mitsui asked with a frown. "That rhythm geek."

 

"Don't call my mother a geek!" Kira said with a frown.

 

Keiji tuned out the conversation to save himself from a headache and nodded towards Aki. "Alright then."

 

"You were just looking for an excuse to go to the clinic and see Yanagi-fukubuchou!" Shoichi accused.

 

"Maybe I was and maybe I wasn't," Kira said with a shrug before stepping back. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get my regulars spot," he said before heading back to the courts.

 

* * *

 

Once they were away from the courts and from eavesdroppers, Akihiro turned to Keiji, his smile fading. "There's a high possibility that Tachibana will be the winner of the third block. But between him and Matsue-senpai, he's much more of a nuisance," he stated bluntly.

 

Keiji blinked as he stared at Aki. "What gave you that idea?" he asked before sighing. "Aki, even if they're nuisances we can handle them. Don't worry too much," he assured the captain.

 

Akihiro glared at Keiji seriously. "You know very well I only use the term nuisance for special kind of people, Keiji," he stated darkly.

 

Keiji sighed before removing his glasses, hooking it on his Rikkai jersey. "Aki..." he said before smiling softly and hugging the captain. “They won't be nuisances....you know why?" he asked before pulling back. "I only have eyes for you remember? So try as they might there's no way that I'll look their way, okay?" he said.

 

Looking away, a smile slowly made its way onto Akihiro's lips before the captain brought a hand up to his mouth and chuckled. "Oya, this is the side of you I rarely see, Keiji," he pointed out before glancing over to his friend and smiled serenely. "And frankly I prefer this side of you much more," he continued, taking Keiji's glasses. "Less work bringing you back to your usual self," he finished, slipping the glasses back on for him.

 

"Then you should see me every morning," Keiji said as he adjusted his glasses. "Kaa-san calls it the Alien mode," he said with a shrug. "Shall we go back to the court? I'm sure the third block has finished with their game," he told Aki. "Maybe after....we can go on a date," he offered.

 

"Tempting," Akihiro admitted as they started walking back to the courts. "But sure, I don't see any reason why we shouldn't," he agreed.

 

"Sanada-buchou, the results from the third block are in!" a random senior called out, jogging up to him.

 

"Is it Tachibana?" the captain inquired.

 

The senior paused before nodding. "H-Hai..." he replied, holding out the results of the matches.

 

Akihiro took it and handed it to Keiji. "Tell everyone who lost to run 30 laps around the school grounds," he instructed Keiji. "Regulars gather at Court A in five minutes."

 

"Right away..." Keiji said before walking over to the waiting upperclassmen. "Bad news for you all, except for Matsue and Akasawa-senpai, the regulars are all first years. That tells you something, doesn't it?" he asked them before adjusting his glasses. "Therefore, 30 laps..." he instructed and almost immediately all of them broke off into a run. Nodding in satisfaction he headed over to Court A where the other regulars were. "Hello senpai-tachi," he greeted Akasawa and Matsue before taking his place beside Akihiro.

 

Matsue chanced a glance at Keiji before catching Akihiro, sending a shiver down his spine and held his tongue.

 

Akihiro glanced around at each of the regulars in turn - but making sure to spare only a second's glance at Matsue and Tachibana. "Congratulations to the winners of the ranking match," he started with a small smile before it quickly faltered. "Tomorrow will be assessment day so we can gauge your current levels and design a proper training menu for each individual. That will be handled by Kei and his father."

 

Keiji nodded before looking at them. "Don't expect that the training menus will be easy. Those will be designed to drive you to the ground," he explained.

 

Akasawa sweatdropped. "...and further than that I expect," he muttered.

 

"Indeed," Keiji answered.

 

Mitsui sighed. "Kaa-san did say that we should expect that," he told them.

 

"Then how about a celebratory dinner before hell starts?" Kira asked them all.

 

"Sorry, but count Aki and I out," Keiji said quickly.

 

"You should really take a break, buchou...fukubuchou," Hisa said.

 

"We are....we're going on a date after club time," Keiji answered causing everyone to stare at the two of them. "90% chance that you guys didn't realize that much earlier," he muttered to himself before shaking his head.

 

Akihiro merely chuckled at this. "That will be all for today then," he announced before glancing over to Akasawa. "And Akasawa-senpai, please make sure the rest of the team finish those 30 laps I ordered. If they slink away they'll pay for it with 500 push-ups tomorrow morning," he warned lightly before turning to Keiji. "Shall we get changed then?" he asked before leading the way to the club room.

 

"I knew they were close but I didn't expect them to be that.....close...." Shoichi admitted as he watched them head off.

 

"H-Hai..." Akasawa said before tapping Matsue on the shoulder and gesturing for him to come with him before heading towards the other upperclassmen.

 

Mitsui frowned when he heard this. "At this rate people would be hooking up---"

 

"So am I assuming that the three of us will go together then?" Kira asked before slinging an arm around each twin.

 

"What the heck?!" Mitsui exclaimed.

 

Shoichi glanced at Tachibana in disgust before pulling his brother away with him. "No way! We already have after-school plans!" he stated pointedly. "Let's go, Mitsui!" he said before pausing and grabbing Hisashi as well. "You too!"

 

Kira blinked. "So much for getting on everyone's good side," he said with a shrug before walking off to retrieve his things and headed home.

 

* * *

 

In the meantime, Keiji was pulling on his school blazer when he finished texting his parents that he would be home late. After getting properly dressed he turned around to look at their captain to check if he was done.

 

Akihiro, who was already done changing back into his uniform, pulled out his phone and was typing up a message to his parents informing them of his last-minute plans. Nodding to himself once the message was sent, he slipped it into his pocket before rounding to face Keiji and smiled. "Are we about ready to head off then?" he asked.

 

"Yes we are," Keiji told him with a small smile before walking with him out of school. "So according to the money in my pocket right now, we can basically afford anything you want. My treat," he told his companion.

 

Akihiro smiled. "What brought this act of chivalry on, then?" he teased as they headed down the street.

 

"For getting you pissed at being such an ignoramus," Keiji answered bluntly. "Plus the fact that we have not gone out on a date since a month ago," he added before adjusting his glasses. "So that's why, tonight, I'm spoiling you," he told him.


	7. Dinner Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akihiro and Keiji go off on a dinner date. The others decide to be nosy and stalk them.

"And that is why Kaa-san approves of you," Akihiro intoned softly, taking Keiji's hand and interlaced their fingers, smiling before leading him off to one of his favorite restaurants. "I hope you don't mind a romantic setting tonight," he pointed out. "Candlelight dinners and all that."

 

"Then let me do the honor of trying to make it as perfect as it can be," Keiji said before promptly removing his glasses and placing it inside his pocket. A smile graced his lips before he gently squeezed Akihiro's hand. "And this time, I'm keeping them off even if we encounter someone we know," he told him.

 

Akihiro's smile grew wider as they entered the restaurant and asked for a table outside on the balcony overlooking the mountain scenery. There were paper lamps overhead and several candles illuminating the tables. The pair sat themselves down at one of the tables closest to the banister before menus were handed out to them. Akihiro was careful in choosing his food this time around, considering that it was a special night.

 

Keiji nodded to the waiter as he was handed another menu. The vice-captain read it over and carefully selected a dish that would fit the mood and at the same time be perfectly edible. After a while, he waited for Akihiro to place his order as well.

 

Finally deciding, Akihiro placed an order as well before handing the menu back to the waiter. Glancing off to the mountain scenery beside them, the teen sighed happily. "It's been more than a month since we last spent time together alone like this," he said conversationally before chuckling. "Without either of our parents spying on us, that is."

 

Keiji chuckled. "They were being overprotective," he said in defense. "But tonight is our night, so we have nothing else to worry about," he said before reaching over the table to take Akihiro's hand. "Just you and me," he added softly before leaning over to kiss the back of Akihiro's hand.

 

Akihiro nodded. "That they were, that they were," he agreed before smiling softly. "I have to wonder something though, Kei," he said curiously, stroking the other boy's hand with his thumb. "How exactly did you get to be this romantic?"

 

"Even I have no clue," Keiji admitted. "It's an illogical side of me that just makes sense if I'm with you...something only you can bring out from me," he told him.

 

Akihiro nodded his agreement. "Illogical indeed. But at least this way I can be assured that nobody will see this side of you unless they eavesdrop and stalk us," he said in amusement.

 

* * *

 

Meanwhile, in another table, Hisashi and Mitsui hid from behind menus. "I swear, if I didn't know better I'd say aliens took over fukubuchou and replaced him with that one!"

 

"But why would they do that?" Hisashi asked.

 

"To get their hands on buchou too!" the younger twin exclaimed.

 

"Need I remind you two that they've known each other since they were kids?" Shoichi hissed over to the two. "If you ask me, Yanagi-fukubuchou developed that side of him especially for Sanada-buchou."

 

"That’s believable," Hisashi said as he looked at the two again.

 

"Are you ready to place your order?" a waiter asked as they approached him.

 

Mitsui blinked before looking at the menu. "Man... these are expensive," he said before picking something cheap and ordering it.

 

"That's what you get for spending all your money on those sentai things," Shoichi scolded before ordering something regardless of the price.

 

"I can treat you, for now, Mitsui," Hisashi said with a smile. "Go ahead and change your order."

 

"Really?" Mitsui asked with a wide grin.

 

"Yes, now go on before I change my mind," Hisashi told him.

 

"You're a brave soul for offering to treat him to dinner," Shoichi told Hisashi with a pat on the shoulder.

 

"I suddenly feel that I'll regret my decision tomorrow lunchtime," Hisashi said with an inward groan as he heard Mitsui changing his order.

 

"Oi Shoichi, check this out," Mitsui suddenly said before pulling out his phone. "Did you get Tou-san's message that he'll double our allowance if we beat our record in making Kaa-san faint?" he asked slyly. "If that happens I can pay you back, Marui-kun," he told Hisa.

 

Shoichi pulled out his phone and read the message before smirking. "Then I have just the thing to beat that record once we get home tonight," he said slyly.

 

* * *

 

When Akihiro and Keiji's orders arrived, the former looked over his shoulder and smiled before chuckling to himself. "Seems I was right when I sensed a couple of familiar people around," he said brightly.

 

Keiji looked behind Akihiro and spotted the other three first years before sighing. "As long as they don't ruin the ambiance and the mood I'm fine with overlooking this," he told his companion. "But that doesn't mean that they're not getting any laps tomorrow."

 

Akihiro chuckled. "I'm way ahead of you with that," he reassured his boyfriend. "Now let's tuck in. We still have one more thing to do before heading home," he added.

 

"What would that be?" Keiji asked in curiosity as he placed the napkin on his lap and poked at his food to make sure of some things before starting to eat.

 

"Have you walked along the beach at night before?" Akihiro asked casually with a warm smile on his face as he ate.

 

"No, I haven't," Keiji admitted before he started eating. "But I'm sure it would be a nice thing to experience...especially with you," he told him.

 

"It will be. I can assure you of that," Akihiro said, already halfway through with his meal.

 

* * *

 

Meanwhile, at the other table of freshmen, Shoichi turned to the other two. "That's pretty romantic, going to the beach," he informed them in a hushed voice in the middle of their own meals.

 

"I still can't believe they have romantic genes in them," Mitsui said as he forked his pasta. "'Sides, after confronting fukubuchou he really didn't seem the type," he argued.

 

"You weren't listening to Shoichi about the whole fukubuchou developing that side just for buchou thing were you?" Hisashi accused flatly.

 

"It's not as though he ever listens to me when it concerns matters about other people," Shoichi pointed out, glancing over to his younger twin brother.

 

Akihiro raised his hand to call for the bill. "Now would be a nice time to leave," he said in a soft tone, glancing momentarily over his shoulder before smiling over to Keiji. "Wouldn't you agree?"

 

"Of course," Keiji said as he took the bill from the waitress as soon as it came and placed the exact change inside. "Hai, we're done here," he said with a smile before getting up from his chair and offering a hand to Akihiro.

 

Akihiro nodded and got to his feet as well before taking Keiji's offered hand as the two of them headed out. Stopping by the freshman's table, the captain smiled and said, "I'll be seeing you all tomorrow morning to give me 30 laps around the school." With that, both the captain and vice-captain took their leave.

 

Mitsui and Hisashi froze when they heard Akihiro's voice. "H-Hai buchou!" they answered together as they watched the two leave the restaurant.

 

"Mou...this means we're getting up earlier than usual," Mitsui complained.

 

"I should probably text Kaa-san about waking us up earlier then," Shoichi said, pulling out his phone as soon as Akihiro and Keiji were gone.

 

* * *

 

The captain and vice-captain in question were making their way to the nearby beach with the cloudless sky above and a full moon shining down. Akihiro took off his shoes and socks and began walking contentedly along the sand with a satisfied smile on his face.

 

Holding his own shoes and socks, Keiji walked along beside Akihiro down the beach. "I'm surprised that no one is out here...then again it is a school night," he said thoughtfully.

 

Akihiro nodded ruefully before looking up at the moon, stopping. "It's a beautiful night tonight~" he pointed out quietly as a sea breeze slowly picked up around them.

 

"Aa," Keiji agreed as he went behind Akihiro and wrapped his arms around him. "A perfect night just for you and me," he told him quietly before turning Akihiro around and kissing him on lips as the moon continued to illuminate their surroundings.


	8. Make-Up Laps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The tennis club have their usual morning training, with some added make-up laps following the events of last night.

The following day, Akihiro was dropped in school early to find the Niou twins and Hisashi already there. Walking up to them, he smiled quietly. "I'm glad to see you all got here on time," he said before noting a few non-regulars rushing into the courts. "I assume you all didn't finish your laps yesterday," he stated.

"H-Hai! Gomen nasai, Sanada-buchou!" one of them piped up in apology.

 

"I'm waiting for those 500 push-ups then. As for you three..." Akihiro turned to the three regulars. "Those 30 laps. Now."

 

Akasawa and Matsue arrived just a few seconds after that. "Um...should we run laps too since the others are?" Akasawa asked the captain.

 

Keiji looked at them before adjusting his glasses. "You can just warm-up," he told them. "Especially you Akasawa-senpai...I spot a few bruises on you and a limp."

 

"A-Ah. It's nothing, don't mind it!!" Akasawa said quickly before jogging over to the side to warm up.

 

"Matsue-senpai," Akihiro called out to the senior.

 

"What is it, Sanada-buchou?" he asked begrudgingly, still not used to the recognition.

 

"Do you know anything about why Akasawa-senpai is limping and with bruises?" he asked.

 

Matsue shook his head. "Unfortunately I don't..."

 

Keiji frowned before adjusting his glasses. "Those bruises look like the ones from fistfights," he observed. "78% chance that there are more on his body that's covered by his clothes," he told them. "Weren't you with him last night, Matsue-senpai?" he asked.

 

"Yes but only for a time," Matsue answered. "We had to separate early since I had some chores to do."

 

"And around what time was that?" Akihiro continued.

 

"Around 7 PM."

 

Akihiro blinked and turned to Keiji. "That makes sense then..." he muttered before gesturing Matsue to go and warm up as well. “7 PM, Kei. My gut is pointing towards one of the other schools....”

 

Keiji thought for a while before looking at the two seniors. "88% that is was Jyosei Shounan," he told Akihiro. "They're the only school who practices that late," he told his captain. "Besides, they had a run-in with Matsue-senpai before. 97% chance that they attacked Akasawa-senpai to get back at him even if he and Matsue-senpai aren't official yet."

 

"If that's the case it looks like we have more plans later after club afternoon practices," Akihiro said with a smirk as he watched the non-regulars do their push-ups. "Don't you agree...Keiji?"

 

"Aa. It's also a good chance to gather more data on opposing schools," Keiji said as he adjusted his glasses and turned his attention to the other regulars.

 

Akihiro smiled deviously. "Yes, I would have to agree with you on that."

 

"The one who will come in last will be drinking something that I learned from my tou-san," Keiji told them before bringing out a glass of suspiciously orange liquid.

 

"Oh crap! It's the killer juice!!!" Mitsui exclaimed before running faster.

 

"Not drinking it! Not drinking it!!!" Hisashi repeated to himself as he quickened his steps.

 

"I don't understand why you guys find that drink so vile," Shoichi pointed out but ran faster as well.

 

"Are you kidding me?!" Mitsui asked his brother incredulously. "The last time tou-san got a hold of that I was out for a whole week, remember?!" he reminded him.

 

"I thought I was going to die with indigestion...." Hisashi whimpered.

 

"Last Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap!!!" the two cried out.

 

Shoichi smirked before making a mad dash past the two after the final curb.

 

"Looks like both of you are drinking the juice," Akihiro pointed out to the two with a sly smirk. "Good luck with that," he said before glancing off to the non-regulars again. "Come on, 350 more to go!"

 

"Not quite," Keiji said with a smirk before promptly turning around just in time to see Kira come around the corner.

 

"Gomen for being late! I was at the library and--what the hell is this?!" he asked as he looked at the glass of orange liquid that was shoved in his hands.

 

"Punishment," Keiji answered with a smirk.

 

"You didn't get the memo, did you Tachibana-kun?" Akihiro chided, glancing over to Shoichi, Mitsui and Hisashi. "Did any of you bother telling him about the laps I assigned you?"

 

"Were we supposed to?" Shoichi asked incredulously.

 

"Of course," Akihiro replied before glancing at Tachibana. "He was there at the restaurant as well last night."

 

Tachibana grinned sheepishly before nodding. "Hey, I was interested," he defended. "Never knew you had that side of you, Kei," he said with a wink over to the vice-captain.

 

"That's Yanagi-fukubuchou to you," Keiji muttered before twitching. "Now drink that," he told him.

 

"Hai hai~" Kira answered before downing the glass.

 

"He's going to die...even if he survives that," Hisashi muttered to himself.

 

After the glass was empty, Tachibana put it down and grinned. "That wasn't so bad," he said.

 

"Waaaaaaaaaaait for it......" Shoichi muttered to his twin.

 

"200 more. Come on," Akihiro encouraged the rest still doing push-ups. "Homeroom's starting in an hour," he reminded.

 

Keiji looked at his watch and started counting down before hearing a crash that was caused by Tachibana fainting. "My prediction was 100% accurate," he said as his glasses flashed against the sunlight.

 

At the court where Akasawa and Matsue were warming up, they could clearly hear what was going on. "Yanagi-fukubuchou's data is scary," Akasawa said as he reached for his toes as Matsue pushed him down. "Just like his fa--- ite!!!" he cried out before quickly swatting away Matsue's hand that pushed down on a bruised part of his back.

 

Matsue brought his hands back, frowning. "What happened, Ishi?" he asked in concern as he attempted looking under the other boy's shirt.

 

"I-It's nothing!" Akasawa said quickly as he hurriedly moved away from Matsue. "I just fell down the stairs...you know me, I'm accident prone," he told him with a nervous laugh. "Ah, we're done warming up, we should go back to the rest of the regulars," he said distractedly.

 

Matsue pursed his lips as he watched Akasawa moved away from him. _'He's hiding something from me...'_ he concluded before following.

 

The non-regulars finished their push-ups before collapsing onto the courts.

 

"Non-regulars who finished the laps yesterday," Akihiro announced, glancing in particular to Matsue and Akasawa. "Free play. Regulars will be doing volley exercises."

 

"Finally, something I'm more confident in~" Hisa said before getting to his feet and walked up to Keiji who showed them the order.

 

Mitsui scratched the back of his head. "We're taking it easy this morning?" he said in dismay.

 

"Aa," Keiji answered. "The real drills start in the afternoon," he told him. "Before I forget, our Moderator won't be making an appearance for a while; it seems that Kaa-san caused too much chaos at the lab."

 

Matsue took his racket and pulled Akasawa to one of the free courts.

 

Shoichi, meanwhile, studied the order for a while before glancing up at Keiji. "Lab?" he repeated. "Just what exactly do your parents do again?" he asked.

 

Keiji smirked and adjusted his glasses. "They work in a lab that's under classified information, something along the lines of your parents’ works," he said.

 

"I don't really recall our parents mentioning Renji-jii helping them with their work..." Shoichi admitted.

 

Akihiro smiled. "Is this your way of getting out of doing your volley practice?" he asked them icily.

 

"No buchou!" Mitsui said before grabbing his brother and dashing off to the practice area.

 

Keiji blinked before retrieving his racket from his bag and heading off with Hisashi while Tachibana remained unconscious on the ground.

 

Akihiro glanced down at Tachibana who was taking up space on one of the courts. Frowning, Akihiro went to retrieve his racket and a ball before tossing it up and pinpointing the shot right at Tachibana's stomach. "You're not supposed to be just laying around," he called out with a wide, devious smile.

 

"Ite!!" Tachibana exclaimed as he quickly got to his feet and looked around. "A-re? They all paired up," he observed before hesitantly looking at Akihiro. "...does this mean you're going to be my practice partner?" he asked fearfully.

 

"Prepare to tire yourself out, Tachibana," Akihiro warned before moving to the other side of the court he was already in.

 

_'I'd rather tire myself out with fukubuchou, thank you very much,'_ Tachibana thought as he walked over to the other side of the court and prepared to receive the serve. "Just volley today, right?" he confirmed.

 

Mitsui looked at them for a bit and shook his head. "He's gonna die," he proclaimed.

 

Hisashi nodded in agreement as he returned Keiji's shot with a volley.

 

"I agree!" Shoichi answered, returning his brother's shot.

 

"You'll be doing most of the volleys, actually," Akihiro clarified, his jacket perched on his shoulders drifting about in the wind before positioning himself behind the service line. Smiling, he bounced the ball in front of him. "Keep your focus, Tachibana," he warned lightly before tossing the ball up and serving.

 

_'How the hell is that jacket staying on his shoulders?!'_ Tachibana thought halfway as he struggled to even do one single volley.

 

Akasawa glanced at their match before shuddering involuntarily. "I never want to be on the receiving end of his service ever again."


	9. Uncovering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akasawa gets into some trouble. It falls on the captain and vice-captain to make sure their regulars are looked after. Aki and Keiji prove why they own those titles.
> 
> On the side, we see development between our two seniors, as well as a cameo appearance from a particular Silver pair duo.

Morning practice ended quite satisfactory for the club - at least in Akihiro's point of view. Classes came and went, as did afternoon practice. After driving the non-regulars - and at some point even the regulars sans Keiji - crazy with the drills, the captain dismissed them and took a shower, soon waiting for Keiji to finish. They had some work to do that evening with regards to one or two of their regular members.

 

Keiji walked out of the clubroom, holding his bag in his right hand before using his left to adjust his glasses. "I believe we're scheduled to follow Akasawa-senpai," he said as he saw the senior head out of the gates with Matsue.

 

Akihiro nodded silently and glanced over to the two seniors.

 

* * *

 

"I'll be fine, Kino....go on home, I still have to pass by the bookstore," Akasawa urged. "You don't want your mother to ground you again, do you?"

 

"I don't care if I get grounded," Matsue said stubbornly, grasping Akasawa by the arms gingerly. "Something happened to you yesterday when I wasn't with you, and I want to make sure you get home safely today!"

 

Akasawa smiled before easing Matsue's grip off his arm. "I'll be fine," he said before stepping back. "See you tomorrow!!" he said quickly before turning around and running off in the opposite direction of where Matsue's way was.

 

"Ishi, chotto!!" Matsue cried out, frowning before going against his better judgment and running off after him.

 

Akihiro chuckled. "That's our cue then, Kei," he pointed out before the two followed suit.

 

* * *

 

Making a few turns and taking a few shortcuts Akasawa easily lost Matsue from following him. "Yosh...." he said before going back to his usual path down the road to reach the small bookstore he was going to.

 

"Oi....didn't we tell you to stop going back here?!" a voice suddenly said from behind him.

 

_'Oh crap...'_

 

"You haven't learned your lesson, have you?" another spat out with a smirk.

 

* * *

 

"I'm surprised he managed to lose Matsue-senpai..." Akihiro pointed out, still managing to follow Akasawa the whole way thanks to his and Keiji's combined stealth skills. "Just as you suspected, Kei. Jyosei Shounan," he commended with a smile, noting the familiar uniform.

 

* * *

 

"Hey, even if your school is within the area doesn't mean you own the place!!!" Akasawa rebutted.

 

"And you think you do?" the Jyosei regular challenged. "Just because you're in Rikkai doesn't mean that you're tough! For your information Jyosei Shounan ranks higher than you, so show some damn respect!" he said before hitting Akasawa across the jaw.

 

"No way I'm showing punks like you respect!" Akasawa hollered before aiming a punch at the other regular.

 

"Oya! You seem to have forgotten about what we did to you yesterday," another piped up. "Maybe we should refresh your memory!"

 

* * *

 

From behind a wall, Keiji looked at the scene. "Cue Matsue-senpai," he muttered.

 

* * *

 

"OI!!" Matsue screamed, running from the corner and then threw a punch to the one closest to Akasawa before pushing him back. "Anybody who wants to hit Ishi will have to answer to me!" he proclaimed.

 

"Oh look it's the pathetic excuse of a captain!" one of the regulars piped up. "Who in the world captains with a tournament record of one measly game?" he scoffed.

 

"K-Kino?" Akasawa stuttered out as he looked up at his friend. "Didn't I tell you to go home?" he asked in alarm.

 

"Aww... they're so concerned with one another," the Jyosei regular cooed in mockery before pulling out a switchblade. "I've been dying to do this," he said as he licked his lips before raising his hand.

 

"KINO!!!" Akasawa exclaimed as he tried to pull the former captain out of the way.

 

"I-te!!" the Jyosei regular suddenly cried out as a tennis ball bounced innocently near his feet. "Who the hell did that?!" he demanded.

 

"Sorry... I couldn't help myself," Keiji said as he stepped out onto the scene. "You should really get your facts straight about the captain of Rikkai," he told them as he glared sharply at them.

 

"F-Fukubuchou..." Akasawa managed to say.

 

"Yanagi-fukubuchou..." Matsue muttered out in acknowledgment.

 

"Fukubuchou?! Your fukubuchou is a freshman now?! What a joke!!" another Jyosei student scoffed.

 

Another tennis ball made its way over and forcefully hit the student on the stomach, knocking him off his feet.

 

"W-What the hell?!" another regular proclaimed.

 

"I wondered who damaged my regular member yesterday..." Akihiro slurred out, stepping out as well, bringing his racket up and smiled innocently at them.

 

"B-Buchou!!" Matsue exclaimed.

 

"What? Even your captain's a freshman?!" another Jyosei regular scoffed in disbelief. This regular, however, was quickly knocked off his feet by another accurate serve from the present Rikkai Dai captain.

 

"Just who the hell are you?!" The last remaining Jyosei regular asked.

 

"Sanada and Yanagi," Keiji said simply as he took the ball that rolled towards him. "Know it...remember it..." he said before removing his glasses, eyes immediately turning blood red as a smirk appeared on his face. “Fear it,” he hissed before sending a Knuckle Serve to knock the regular into a few hours from then. Surveying their handiwork, he slipped on his glasses once again. "Are you alright, Akasawa-senpai?" he asked.

 

"A-Aa..." Akasawa answered. "Arigatou...."

 

"We figured something happened with you and thought we'd come and investigate," Akihiro explained, glancing down at the unconscious Jyosei boys. "I was hoping to challenge them to a friendly tennis match to get them off your backs but I doubt they'd listen to reason. Not to mention they'd be more beat up that way," he finished.

 

Matsue cringed in fear. "Er... This way is just fine, Sanada-buchou..." he said.

 

"Either way it's safe now. So Kei and I will be heading on our way while you take Akasawa-senpai home, Matsue-senpai," Akihiro urged before grabbing Keiji by the arm and pulling him away.

 

"You're excused from training tomorrow, Akasawa-senpai! Heal up!" Keiji said before letting himself be dragged away by Akihiro.

 

Akasawa watched them leave before sighing and looking at Matsue. "G-Gomen..." he said quietly. "I only avoided the subject so that you wouldn't be dragged into the mess..." he explained.

 

Waiting for the two freshmen to be completely out of sight, Matsue, took Akasawa by the hand and led him away from the carnage off to the former vice-captain's home. "You know how I don't like being kept out of things, Ishi," Matsue said with a sigh. "It gets me more riled up when I don't know what happens to you... I worry about you," he admitted quite bluntly before blushing.

 

Akasawa looked at their joined hands before looking down in shame. "I knew you would...that's why I didn't want to involve you..." he said quietly as they entered his house which was empty save for him. “If you knew I was in trouble you'll ask me to move out again from here,” he said. "And you know that I really don't have anywhere to go and your parents don’t like me."

 

Matsue sighed before reaching into his back pocket and pulled out an envelope and forced it into Akasawa's hands. "Take this then," he said quietly. "I've been saving up from my part-time job and the money my parents give me when I do chores... It's enough for you to find an apartment. My father's telling me to go and find one for myself so I can learn to live independently... But I want you to find one. For us," he suggested, glancing into Akasawa's eyes and smiling softly before moving forward and kissing the other boy on the lips.

 

Akasawa blinked at the envelope in his hands before blushing profusely at being kissed. "K-Kino..." he muttered out before looking at his 'friend'. “Then...then we're looking for an apartment together!!” he proclaimed before dragging Matsue off happily.

 

"O-Oi chotto!!" Matsue voiced out in protest as he was dragged away. "I didn't mean right now!!!"

 

"Why not now?" Akasawa called out as he continued to drag Matsue down the road, making a turn at a street with some apartments up for sale or rent. People smiled as the couple passed them, chuckling about the wonders of youth.

 

"My parents ex---" Matsue was cut off when he saw the street of apartments before quieting down, his mouth gaping at the buildings left and right.

 

"Sugoi...." Akasawa said in awe as they walked down the street. "A lot of Rikkai students pick out apartments here every year, mostly university students," he told him before spotting a rather spacious one just across the road. "Let's inquire about this one."

 

"That looks costly," Matsue admitted as they approached the building. "But it looks accommodating...." he added with a nod of approval.

 

As they approached the unit, Akasawa noticed a piece of paper hanging by its gate. Upon closer inspection, he saw that it was the price of the apartment. "Kino! You're not going to believe this!!" he said as he stared at the price in disbelief. "It's in our price range!"

 

"Are you sure?" Matsue asked incredulously before moving up to see the price for himself. "You're right..."

 

"Interested in it?" a voice said before a man stepped out from inside the house wearing business attire. "I have it on suicide sale," he told them.

 

"A-re...aren't you Shishido from Hyoutei?"

 

"Hai, but I was in Rikkai University for my masters so I got this place," Shishido explained.

 

Glancing over to Shishido, Matsue blinked. "I'm not used to seeing people from other schools attend Rikkai but then again I'm not all that surprised."

 

"It was just because Hyoutei didn't have the mastery course that I was after," Shishido said with a wave of his hand. "So, what _is_ your price range, kids?" he asked.

 

"E-to..." Akasawa muttered before checking the money in the envelope. "40,000 yen?"

 

Shishido thought for a while. "Tell you what, since I really just want to get rid of this place I'll give it to you for 10,000 and then the 30 you can use for whatever else you need for it," he bargained.

 

"Are you serious?!" Akasawa exclaimed.

 

"Is there a catch or something to that?" Matsue asked skeptically.

 

"I doubt Ryou-kun would be after anything," came another voice coming out from the apartment, smiling.

 

Matsue blinked. "Ootori Choutarou from Hyoutei...." he exclaimed.

 

Choutarou smiled, waving at them.

 

"I just want to get rid of it, that's all. Choutaro said that I already owned too much property and selling some off wouldn't hurt," Shishido told them before swiping the envelope and taking ten thousand yen from it. "There you go," he said as he handed the envelope back and gave them the keys. "I'll come over next week to sign over the deed," he told them before heading to the car. "Let's go Chouta~" he called out before driving off with his partner.

 

"Haaaai~" Choutarou called out, following Shishido to the car.

 

Akasawa blinked at the fast-paced happening before looking at the keys in his hands. "Er...let's check it out?" he asked.

 

Matsue was stuck glancing over to the apartment for quite a while before shaking his head and turned to Akasawa, nodded. "A-Aa. Let's have a look inside."

 

Going inside and inspecting the house, Akasawa smiled at the space that was available. "It's like...big enough to occupy the lot behind it," he said thoughtfully before going to the back and sure enough, his assessment was right. "What?!" he exclaimed before checking out the envelope. "He...he only took 500 yen from the envelope..." he noticed before looking at Matsue. “That guy...” he trailed off before thinking for a while. "I guess...things are just finally turning out alright for us," he said with a smile before walking up to his partner and held his hand.


End file.
